


Sidekick

by PhoenixInTheAsh



Series: Jason Todd Birthday Week 2018 [2]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Justice League - All Media Types, Justice League of America (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: Fluff, Jason Todd is Robin, SO MUCH FLUFF
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2018-08-12
Packaged: 2019-06-26 10:14:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15661161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhoenixInTheAsh/pseuds/PhoenixInTheAsh
Summary: For dailyjasontodd's Birthday Week Prompts.Day Two (August 10): Jason taken in by another DC character & Dream Team (can't be any of the canon teams, i.e. Outlaws, Kyle and Donna)Bruce tells Jason he needs to learn more about the members of the Justice League. Jason improvises.





	Sidekick

    “Hal, _where is my son?_ ”

    “He’s with me, Bruce, I swear. It’s not like I kidnapped the kid, jeez.”

    Hal is met with silence on the other end of the line, so he does what he does best and keeps talking.

    “He found me, okay? God, what are you teaching these wards of yours? He marched right into the office like he owned the place, asking for me by name. How the hell did he even get to California?”

    He pauses, glancing at the kid sitting outside his office. He seems perfectly calm, swinging his legs idly while he waits for Hal to finish the phone call.

    A sigh comes through the receiver, so longsuffering that Hal wonders if this isn’t the first time the kid has pulled a stunt like this.

    “Please put him on the phone,” is Bruce’s only response, and something in his tone reminds Hal of the way Bruce pinches the bridge of his nose when he’s annoyed. When Hal’s around, he makes the gesture often.

    “Yeah, one sec.”

    There is a beat of silence, then a cheerful voice comes over the line.

    “Hiya, B! Miss me already?”

    “Jason, you have been missing for three days. _Where have you been?_ ”

    “You told me my assignment for the week was to get to know the other members of the League, so that’s what I’ve been doing.”

    “Your assignment was to learn about them, not run off and interview them. Why has no one called me before now? Why didn’t you tell me you were going to do this?”

    “‘Cause I wanted to surprise you with how much I knew?”

    His fragile excuse is phrased as a question, only so Jason can sound more innocent than he truly is. Though his reasoning might be faulty, he wasn’t going to give up an opportunity to meet the Justice League. He backs up and takes another swing.

    “C’mon, B. Why should I sit at the Batcomputer reading files for hours when I can get to know them in person? It’s so much more fun this way. And if I’d asked you about it, you would have said no like you always do.”

    Hal raises an eyebrow. _Batcomputer? Files?_ He knew Bruce was a great detective, but _damn_ that’s extreme. His next thought is to wonder what Bruce might have put in a file about him.

    Bruce releases another long sigh.

    “I’m coming to get you.”

    “Bruce, wait━at least let me finish. I’m almost done.”

    There is no answer for a while; Jason taps his finger on the desk and waits patiently through the silence. Hal has never had much patience for silence, but this kid lives with _Bruce_ , so he must be used to it.

    “You have twenty-four hours. I’ll pick you up at Ferris Aircraft at 9am sharp. You better be there.”

    The kid hesitates, “What’s the catch, B?”

    “You’ll be quizzed on the plane back to Gotham.”

    Jason visibly pales, and Hal wonders again what Bruce has put these boys through.

    Their goodbyes are short and oddly formal for a father and son, but Hal pushes that thought aside when Jason turns to him.

    “So,” Jason has quickly shaken the threat of a quiz, his demeanor returning to normal, “how do you feel about team-ups? I brought my uniform.”

     _Uniform? What the hell, Bruce?_

    The kid seems to take his brief silence the wrong way, and he splutters with comically wide eyes.

    “Not that we would be a real team or anything. And I could probably do it by myself, but you can fly, which is so much faster than driving, and having help would really be great━”

    Bruce’s sidekick admitting he needs help? He decides he likes this kid already. Plus, Bruce hates his guts already so helping his son piss him off further is no skin off his back. He didn’t have any plans for that day, anyway.

    “Who do you have left?”

    The whole affair turned out to be fairly easy, since he only had Barry, Oliver, and J’onn left to find. The kid turned out to be pretty resourceful with planning everything. Sure, he was still a neon light compared to Bruce, but Jason was more serious than his predecessor had been as Robin, giving him a maturity that seemed well beyond his years. He shared a sense of mischief with the first Robin, and Hal quickly learned that the kid was smart as a whip and would slice you to ribbons with sarcasm before you even knew you were bleeding.

    Barry was the easiest to check off. All it took was a phone call and Hal offering to buy lunch. They met at an all-you-can-eat place a couple blocks away from Hal’s office. Hal certainly couldn’t afford Barry’s eating habits anywhere else, and Hal soon discovered that the kid could eat almost as much as Barry. Jason spent the entire meal quietly interrogating Barry about his powers and limits, then begged for a demonstration. Barry happily obliged both, glad to have someone take an interest in him and his abilities. Jason was ecstatic, somehow able to (mostly) keep up with the scientific jargon. He looked like a kid at Christmas when they all went out to a secluded area and he _saw_ how fast Barry could go. They parted ways with a cute high-five/knuckle bump combo.

    J’onn was a little more difficult. Apparently he couldn’t get away from a case, which meant they had to fly all the way to Middleton to meet him. It was Hal’s turn for questioning while they flew to Colorado. Jason seemed most interested in Hal’s responsibilities as part of the Lantern Corps, seemingly asking every question under the sun.

    “Are you the only one on earth?”

    “Yes.”

    “Will you always be the only one on Earth? Would you have to train the new Lantern if a new one was chosen on Earth? Are you like a space cop? Are there Lanterns of different colors? What do those do? Could someone use all the different colors at the same time?”

    Hal did his best to keep up and answer as well as he knew how, but the kid asked about so many things he didn’t have answers for. He had to make his best guess or tell him he simply didn’t know the answer.

    Strangely, Jason didn’t have much to say to J’onn. Out loud, at least. Hal suspected that they were communicating telepathically. He recognized the glazed-over look from whenever J’onn would share memories with people. Whatever their conversation, Jason hugged J’onn and thanked him fiercely before they left. Hal couldn’t understand how a ward of Bruce’s could be so open with physical affection, but Jason had surprised him multiple times already. Clearly, Bruce’s teammates had only scratched the surface of whoever Bruce truly was.

    Oliver hadn’t answered his phone all day, so they suited up and tracked him down in Star City. When they found him, he was in the middle of a stakeout, and he gave the two of them an impressive tongue lashing.

    “Didn’t anyone ever teach you not to sneak up on someone during a mission?”

    “ _Duh_. But I still do it anyway just to mess with B.”

    Oliver zeroed in on the new Robin as if seeing him for the first time.

    “Who the hell are you?”

    “Who the hell am I? Who the hell are you?”

    The pair traded insults for several minutes and Hal had to resist whistling the Jeopardy theme. Eventually, they ran out of things to say, and Oliver punched his shoulder in a peace offering. They both wore matching grins.

    “I’m Robin.”

    “Green Arrow, nice to finally meet you. Where in the world did Batman find you, huh?”

    Jason laughed as if it was some inside joke and replied with a twinkle in his eye.

    “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

    Green Lantern and Robin assisted with Green Arrow’s dealer of the week since they were already there. It took the three of them ten minutes to round everyone up, and they were on a roof chatting over burgers by the time the police came to arrest the dealers.

    Oliver was clearly impressed with the kid, and he spent more time asking Jason questions about his training and schooling than Jason could squeeze in questions about Oliver’s life. Hal couldn’t help but be a little impressed, too, when he found out that the kid is balancing high school and vigilantism. Hal thought his life was hard. At least Carol knew and understood why he had to be off work randomly. He didn’t need a doctor’s note so he could go save the world.

    Jason and Oliver bonded quickly over menial things, spending the rest of the evening chatting away while Hal sat back and listened for once. The kid was something else, really. Hal would never understand how Bruce managed to attract two _children_ with such life and personality despite having the emotional range of a rock. Maybe _less_ emotional range than a rock.

    When it was time to leave, Oliver gave Jason a long, appraising glance and laid a hand on the boy’s small shoulders.

    “If you ever want to get away from that old man of yours for a few days, then give me a call. Roy and I could use a fresh face around every now and then. The two of you would get along well.”

    Jason agreed with a grin, and they took off back to Coast City.

    Later, while the kid is passed out on his couch, Hal lets himself wonder again about the day and force of nature this kid is. Hal doesn’t know Nightwing very well, but he knows enough to see that the two have very different attitudes. Yet, they both still carry themselves with an easy confidence that Hal hasn’t seen very often. They are clearly well trained, intelligent, well-rounded kids. But how does _Bruce_ of all people manage that?

    The next morning, Hal and Jason meet Bruce’s helicopter outside of Ferris Aircraft. Bruce jogs over quickly, going to Jason immediately and holding him by the shoulders in front of him so he can get a good look at his kid. Once he confirms that Jason is unharmed, he addresses Hal.

    “I hope he wasn’t any trouble.”

    Hal briefly reflects on the last twenty-four hours and Bruce’s worried look, then shakes his head while praying to whoever might be listening that he never has kids or sidekicks.

    “Not enough trouble, if you ask me. I hope you pass your quiz, kid.”

    Jason gives Bruce a pleading look, which is answered by an eye roll. Then Bruce actually chuckles, a small smile gracing his features. He pulls the kid into a headlock, ruffling his hair into a mess. Jason protests loudly but they are both laughing. After he's released, the two of them grin at each other while Jason fixes his hair.

    Hal watches the whole exchange in amazement, having never seen a side of Bruce like this. Jason’s demeanor and openness make more sense now, if this is how Bruce acts toward his sons. Hal wishes he would see more of this version of Bruce around the League, but he supposes that it would ruin his whole "embodiment-of-fear" gig.

    Jason hugs Hal, a long a drawn out one and Hal can’t help but feel a little uncomfortable with Bruce right there, so he pats the kid’s back to signal the end of their little moment. Jason pulls away, but meets his eyes.

    “Thank you.”

    “No problem, kid. Give him hell for me when I’m not there to do it.”

    Jason only smirks in response, and returns to Bruce’s side.

    “Come on, let’s get you home, Alfred’s been worried sick,” Bruce starts walking them toward the helicopter with an arm around his son’s shoulder.

    “Sure, _Alfred’s_ been worried.”

    Bruce suddenly turns around, jogging back over to Hal and shaking his hand.

    “Thank you for keeping an eye on him. I owe you one.”

    Hal is too stunned to reply before Bruce is gone and the helicopter has taken off. It isn’t until he no longer hears the whirring of the blades that Hal finds his voice.

    “What the _f━_ ”

**Author's Note:**

> The tense changes are intentional, I swear.


End file.
